Brother-In-Law
by luvtheheaven
Summary: Spoilers for season 2, episode 7 "As Long As We Both Shall Live". Written right after that episode aired. This little oneshot is Brenna's initial reaction to the news of Leo's death, including a Brenna/Greer texting conversation.


You're in History with Mr. Hollingshead, and an aide from the front office comes in and tells your teacher that Brenna Carver has been asked to report to the guidance counselor's office immediately. You don't have any friends in the class with whom to exchange a confused and surprised glance. It's first period! Surely it's too early in the day for something like this.

You get up and walk out the door, and down the hall. It feels excruciating. Something probably went wrong with April. Or Finn. It seems unlikely this has anything to do with you. It's not like you violated the dress code today. Your counselor could, theoretically, want you to come in because of your involvement in the LGBTQ+ club or your lack of interest in college, but if it was something like that would they really force you to miss a valuable lesson on World War II and the horrors of Nazi Germany? _Gosh._ Why did you have to care deeply about _multiple_ people with such severe illnesses?

"Brenna?" Ms. Medeiros asks as she sees you lingering by the entrance.

You nod, trying not to focus on how softly she said your name.

"Have a seat," she says in that sickeningly sympathetic voice, and you are starting to have flashbacks to when your dad died. That had been even more unexpected, but it's not like you are prepared, in the slightest, to lose your big sister today. She better not be dead.

You stare into her eyes and put up all the emotional walls you can muster, knowing already they won't be nearly strong enough a fortress to protect you. "What is it?"

She glances down awkwardly, nervously, clearly not used to breaking this kind of news to teenagers. "Your brother passed away this morning," she finally says sadly.

You laugh – you can't help it.

"I don't _have_ a brother!"

And for a moment, you are sure you were worried for nothing. No one new is dead or even in the hospital. At least no one in your life. Some sorry soul in your school just lost a brother, sure, and that is awful, but what a relief. They just made an insane mistake.

But then the counselor scowls, and glances down at her handwritten notes on her desk, and then says, "I'm sorry, but they said he was your family member." She stares back at you. "Leo? He's _not_ your brother?" she asks hesitantly.

Your eyebrows shoot up a full inch as the shock of what is happening hits you. The air leaves your lungs. Or maybe the entire freaking room. You don't even notice that you moved your arm until your hand is already covering your mouth. The image of April collapsing in her wedding dress fills your mind. And all of those feelings you felt in that moment come rushing back to you now, stronger than ever, tied inextricably to the memory.

Somehow, you manage to ask the question. "Are you sure Leo is dead?"

You're not crying yet. Your voice isn't even breaking. The news hasn't really sunk in. It hasn't even been confirmed!

"I'm afraid so, honey," the counselor says, and you don't know what to do. Why did they have to take you out of class for this? You glance at your watch. It's nine AM. You could've had six more hours of ignorant bliss. He still would've been dead when you got home.

You lose the ability to string words into a sentence. "Is… my mom… um…"

The counselor nods anyway. "She is. You can just sit here until she arrives."

How could Leo be dead? He was… cured! Or in remission. _Whatever._ The brain surgery had worked. He'd survived his coma and had been completely, one-hundred percent fine for months now. April was the one she had to worry about. And Finn. God. This was a nightmare. April must be a mess right now. What do you say to your sister when she's lost her husband only a month after marrying the guy? April didn't deserve this. Was she even going to want to fight for her life now that Leo wasn't in it? You look around the office, trying to focus on something else. There are some stupid posters about how to achieve goals, but… Leo. He is dead. He was such a good guy. He'd been nice to you. He wasn't your brother, but he had become your family and you'd been looking _forward_ to what that might mean. You two hadn't even gotten much of a chance to get to know one another yet. Most of what you knew about him you'd heard from April, or even your mom. But you… you loved him. You did. It hadn't taken much for you to feel that way about him. And he _had been_ your brother-in-law.

The moment you see your mom, the tears start flowing and you embrace for a long time, neither of you needing to say a word. Then you go back to the car and begin to drive home. You want to talk about this. About all of the pain. But you know how much your mom must be hurting, since she too lost a husband, and because what Leo died from was related to his cancer, a much-too-similar kind of beast as what was infecting her beloved oldest daughter. You can't risk making it worse. And you obviously can't talk about any of it with April. You wonder if April will be at the house when you get there. Your mom turns on the blinker and leaves the school parking lot. You think about talking to Finn, or even Ford, but Finn… his health is still so fragile, you don't want to stress him out by reminding him of how close death can be. It just wouldn't be appropriate to talk about it with him. And Ford… she's never been the most comforting presence in your life.

It's only natural that you pull your cell phone out of your jacket pocket and decide to text your ex-girlfriend. Greer has always made you feel better. It was almost magical, how much nicer it felt to be crying about your sister having cancer when you had her listening, caring. It was like knowing she was sympathetic was all you needed to make the heaviness of the worst things in life… well, not lighter, but like… she helped to carry the weight of it all. She was really good at that. She took some of the heaviness off of your shoulders because she was so good at really putting it on her own.

And so you proceed to text her from that passenger seat of the car.

 _My sister's husband just died.(Sent: 9:26 AM)_

 _I really need someone to talk to. (Sent: 9:26 AM)_

And then, what are you supposed to do? Obviously Greer's in school. So you wait. Patiently. Oh, who are you kidding? Impatiently.

 _Oh my gosh that's so sad. I'm so sorry, Bren. (Sent: 9:31 AM)_

You smile, and you didn't even know that you would be capable of that facial expression today, but already she's helping. And she was so quick to respond, too. Five minutes. Not bad at all.

 _It really is. Idk what Im gonna say to April. (Sent: 9:32 AM)_

 _Pretty sure you don't have to say anything. (Sent: 9:33 AM)_

 _Just give her lots of hugs. (Sent: 9:33 AM)_

 _And when the time is right, tell her how much you loved Leo. (Sent: 9:34 AM)_

 _You know I did. (Sent: 9:34 AM)_

 _Yeah. You really did. (Sent: 9:35 AM)_

 _I love you, too. (Sent: 9:35 AM)_

 _I know. (Sent: 9:37 AM)_

 _Your advice is great tho. That will help her. (Sent: 9:37 AM)_

 _Are you going to be okay today? (Sent: 9:38 AM)_

 _I guess I have to be. Idk. (Sent: 9:38 AM)_

 _Tell me when the funeral will be. Maybe I can come. (Sent: 9:40)_

 _I'll tell u as soon as I know. (Sent: 9:41)_

 _You don't have to come tho. (Sent: 9:41)_

 _I know I don't have to. I want to. (Sent: 9:42)_

 _I love you. (Sent: 9:43)_

 _Thank you. (Sent: 9:44)_


End file.
